Oil the Finger Board

[adimanto]

Hi there!'it's passed a year since i have my new alembic,the fingerboard start to loose black,probably i need to oil it a bit,i have bought a pure lemon oil,how many of them on the fingerboard?

[lbpesq]

Just a small amount.  I only use a drop or two.  Rub it in lightly and let it soak.  If it all soaks in and is dry to the touch after only a minute or two, re-apply.  I let the oil soak in for 5 or 10 minutes, then wipe off any excess.  I always leave my old strings on for a day or two as the recently oiled board seems to blacken the strings at first.
 
Bill, tgo

[adimanto]

hi bill,a drop for all the finger board,or a drop for fret?

[lbpesq]

For the whole board. Spread it around.  I use a little piece of aquarium spun gentle plastic filtering material to work the oil over the board. A little goes a LONG way!
 
Bill, tgo

[jazzyvee]

I usually wet the whole fretboard and let it soak in overnight and it seems fine.  
 
Jazzyvee

[adimanto]

hi jazzy!when you have oiled it,it's look like a new fretboard?or still have some bright part inside?

[bigredbass]

I'm with Jazzy;  I put enough on it to where it looks wet, leave it for thirty minutes.  After that time you'll see where it's absorbed some of it.  Before I do it I rub the fingerboard with 0000 steelwool and shine up the frets, just to get everything cleaned up. Then I wipe it all dry and re-string.  Ebony is ridiculously hard, so I rarely worry that the steelwool is taking off any worrying amounts of wood, though I only do this no more than twice a year.  I hate new strings on top of dull-looking frets.  
 
J o e y

[jazzyvee]

I probably do mine about max twice a year and it looks great and black. I don't even change the strings afterwards as I can't say i've noticed any sound detriment.  
 
 
Oh lemon oil smells lovely but I prefer the smell of limes to lemon. I wonder if there is Lime oil and if so would that be equally as good.?
 
Jazzyvee

[edwin]

There is lime oil. My wife has expressed and steam distilled at her shop. They do have different constituents from lemon oil and Dawn isn't sure if it would be as good. It is a little more corrosive, so it could be dangerous to some finishes. It's also more expensive. She recommends the expressed version, if you are looking for it over on that side of the pond.
 
(Message edited by edwin on December 06, 2011)

[mica]

I'd steer clear of the lime oil, I found it to be irritating to my skin. It was the ONLY thing that made one particularly rank smelling case on a repair tolerable, sprinkled generously in the accessories compartment.

[lbpesq]

Anyone ever tried hemp oil?  Just wondering.  
 
Bill, tgo

[hydrargyrum]

Well there was this time back in college where these friends of mine and I took a trip to Mexico, and while we were there me met this guy from Turkey . . .
 
Oh, you mean on your fingerboard!  Umm, well nevermind, that's a whole different matter.  
 
(Message edited by hydrargyrum on December 08, 2011)

[terryc]

mica..smoke from the hundreds of bars it had been in prior to public smoking ban??

[edwin]

My guess is that it was a remedy for cat pee.

[jacko]

Way back in the dim distant past my dad thought the cat had pee'd on my jeans - turned out to be the patchouli oil :-)  
 
Graeme